RSL form flips with 3-1 loss to FC Dallas

Real Salt Lake was a white-hot team — one of the best in MLS. That almost (almost!) seems like a distant memory now, with the team dropping their third loss in four matches. FC Dallas scored twice in the first half, and RSL had no answer until late in the second before Dallas sealed the game with a third goal. Here are a few things we learned from this match. A deep line stymies RSL We all saw it. FC Dallas sat reasonably deep — not reasonably deep, and not with unreasonable numbers — but not having space to run into did not help RSL's attack a bit. The result was a quiet match from Zavier Gozo, Morgan Guilavogui and Sergi Solans. None of them looked dangerous for any prolonged period. It's telling that when Dallas committed numbers forward late in the second half (for what reason, I'm uncertain), Guilavogui found Luna in a bit of space in the box, and the World Cup-hopeful scored a goal. When it became a four-on-four, five-on-five, RSL looked deadly. That's when they've looked deadly all season. Glad is an essential player Without Justen Glad, RSL struggled. He's a great one-on-one defender, and that's part of it, but he's a player that has a significant tactical vision, giving him unique capacity (on this team) to break up play. That's not something that RSL's limited defense holds. DeAndre Yedlin is a right back by trade and still in transition to his center back role, Philip Quinton is a limited player, and Sam Junqua is likewise a bit limited. If Justen Glad is out for any extended period of time, it'll be a hard few weeks. Is Spierings the right player alongside Caliskan? This is definitely more a genuine question than a leading one: I don't know if Stijn Spierings is the right partner for Noel Caliskan. I'm increasingly uncertain what Spierings brings uniquely, and he seems more a connective player than one with any unique, compelling qualities. In a more built-out midfield, you need a connective player. In a two-man midfield, I'm not sure that's the right profile. I dunno, what do you all think? A few more things • Dallas is so depressing to watch on TV. The crowd sounds alright these days (a far cry from the days of FC Dallas's stadium sounding dismal, I guess), but the TV angle is 90% empty, covered stands. It makes for such poor television. • I absolutely love notes being passed to players by substitutes. I think they should be required to eat the note to continue the match. • Victor Olatunji is a perfect Pablo Mastroeni player. He's so chaotic. You never know what you'll get from him, both in successful attacks and unsuccessful ones. • Subs changes games, right? I thought Aiden Hezarkhani and Olatunji looked dangerous. • I hope Diego Luna goes to the World Cup. Even when he's in and out of games, he provides a real point of danger, almost without fail.